A new era has been ushered in as the heads of state of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine signed the EU Association Agreement in Brussels on June 27, along with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili signed the agreement on behalf of Georgia.
After the signing ceremony, the Georgian parliament, including the 28 EU member states will have to ratify it before it can come into force. Georgian Parliament Speaker Davit Usupashvili had said that parliament plans to ratify the agreement in July, 2014. This new accord will establish a new legal framework for relations and will replace the EU-Georgia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement that was signed in 1996.
Georgia had initialed the Association Agreement in November, 2013 in Vilnius during the EU Eastern Partnership Summit. After years of negotiations with the European Union, Armenia was also set to initial those documents, however in an unexpected turn of events, Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan, during a visit to Moscow announced that Armenia would instead join the Russian-led Customs Union, comprised of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Moldova had also initialed the Association Agreement during the November 2013 summit in Vilnius, while Ukraine’s former President Viktor Yanukovych, at the time, declined to sign citing pressure from Russia. That decision led to massive protests in the country, eventually forcing Yanukovych from office in February 2014. However, his successor President Petro Poroshenko on June 27 signed the economic component, called the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Zone of the Agreement; the political component had already been signed by Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk on March 21 at a time when Brussels wanted to demonstrate solidarity with Ukraine.
The Georgian delegation in Brussels included Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze, Minister for Euro and Euro Atlantic Integration Alexi Petriashvili, Minister of Economy Giorgi Kvirikashvili and Justice Minister Tea Tsulukiani.
